Chapter 76

Cheng Zheng continued to move forward with the sickle in his hand. Seeing his wife's excited expression, he said, "Others can't find it, but I can."

"Show off." Jian Lu rarely saw Cheng Zheng like this. He was not the steady leader he used to be. She turned around and led her daughter who was walking in the snow, "Shuangshuang, daddy is just bragging. Let's open our eyes and see if daddy can find winter mushrooms."

"Okay~" Shuangshuang looked up at the sky. Where is the moo? Can dad blow the moo up to the sky? Is he that powerful?

After walking for a few more minutes, Cheng Zheng turned around and looked at his wife and daughter-in-law, "Are you tired? Shuangshuang, do you want daddy to put you in a backpack?"

Shuangshuang shook her head and refused, "No, Sangsang wants to play it by himself. Sangsang is very good."

Jian Lu saw that the snow didn't touch her ankles and didn't make her shoes wet, so she just let her do what she wanted. She discussed with the man in front of her and decided to go to the county town in a few days to buy a pair of thicker shoes for the little girl.

"Okay, I have to prepare New Year's goods before the New Year anyway, so I'll buy them all at once then."

While Cheng Zheng was talking to his wife, he looked around and saw the white snow spreading endlessly. The scenery here was completely different from that on the southern island. There was only a small mark in the front left.

"You guys slow down, I'll go take a look." Cheng Zheng said to his wife, and strode towards the place where the marks were.

"Come on, let's follow Dad to take a look." Jian Lu held Shuangshuang in one hand and held a wooden stick in the other hand and poked into the snow towards Cheng Zheng. The two of them kept a distance of two or three meters.

As they were walking, Cheng Zheng suddenly squatted down, holding a sickle at his side and started to dig snow. Jian Lu and Shuangshuang squatted down as well, looking at his action in confusion.

"Mom, what is Dad doing?" They reached out and touched the snow. It was so cool.

"I don't know either." Jian Lu looked back and saw that the row of marks disappeared about seven or eight meters away from here.

"Those are the footprints of animals in the mountains." Cheng Zheng explained to his wife while digging in the snow. "It snowed heavily up front and covered the mountain. Many animals in the mountains didn't have enough to eat so they came out to look for food. Winter mushrooms are what they like. The row of footprints at the back are the marks they left along the way."

"Then why don't you dig over there?" Jian Lu looked at the place where Cheng Zheng was digging the snow, which was still several meters away from the end of the footprints.

"Those animals are smart. They know to leave food for themselves so that they can't be discovered by other animals. Wherever they go, they dig in the snow and leave no footprints." Cheng Zheng is experienced and looked around before choosing the location to dig winter mushrooms.

As he was talking, Cheng Zheng was digging the snow vigorously. Finally, he dug out a piece of winter mushroom by digging through the thick snow. The brown and yellow winter mushroom revealed its true form, causing Jian Lu and Shuangshuang to exclaim in surprise.

“Really!”

Shuangshuang was even more excited, "What a great experience!"

Cheng Zheng dug out a large piece of winter mushrooms, shook off the snow on them, and threw them all into the backpack. "My dad taught me this before. We dug up a lot of winter mushrooms."

The trip up the mountain was quite rewarding. In the end, half of the backpack was filled. Shuangshuang didn't sit in it anymore, and was carried down the mountain by his father with one hand.

In response, Shuangshuang looked at the basket on his father's back with resentful eyes, vowing to throw away the winter mushrooms that had snatched away his own car many times.

At the Cheng family, Aunt Wang had asked someone to exchange an old hen for her.

It wouldn’t be a good New Year without chickens. This old hen had shiny feathers and looked well-fed.

Kill the chicken, drain the blood, and steam it. Stew half of it today, and keep the other half for the New Year. This is the good thing about the north. In this weather, you can leave it alone without spoiling.

Chop half a chicken into pieces, wash it and blanch it in a pot. Then prepare ginger, green onion, star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon, and peppercorns, put the spices into the pot and stir-fry until fragrant, add the chicken pieces and stir-fry until the chicken is golden brown, then add soy sauce and a little rock sugar, put the washed and dried winter mushrooms that Cheng Zheng found, and finally add a large basin of water and simmer over medium-low heat.

The iron pot on the earthen stove in the countryside is large, with a narrow bottom and a wide mouth. They both watched their grandmother cover the pot with a huge wooden lid, blocking their view, and felt anxious.

"Grandma, where's the chicken? Where's the mushrooms?"

"It's stewing." Aunt Wang asked her granddaughter to go out and play. "It's warm on the kang, are you cold?"

"It's not cold!" Shuangshuang felt so awesome that she dressed like a little dumpling and just wanted to run around.

Smelling the fragrance from the kitchen, Shuangshuang took a deep breath and ran out again because she heard some noise outside.

“Lulu!”

At the gate of the Cheng family, the families of the third sister Jian Xin and the eldest sister Jian Yue arrived.

The third sister and brother-in-law had met yesterday, and Jian Lu was even more surprised when she saw her eldest sister Jian Yue at first glance today.

Jian Yue has changed a lot in the past few years and looks a little tired. Jian Lu knows that she gave birth to another child and there are three kids in the family now. The eldest brother-in-law is a taciturn person. He just nodded and greeted Jian Lu and Cheng Zheng and didn't say anything else.

"Lulu, look at you, you look even younger than before." Jian Yue spoke slowly and softly, and walked into the house holding hands with her fourth sister, followed by her three children.

While Jian Yue, Jian Xin and Jian Lu were talking, Cheng Zheng gave cigarettes to his eldest brother-in-law and third brother-in-law. The three old men chatted casually and watched the six children in the yard making noise.

They both looked at the five children who suddenly appeared; they were all their brothers and sisters.

Shuangshuang was a little sad and melancholy. Since she came here, she had called countless brothers and sisters, so why was she always the younger sister?

She wants to be a sister too!

The three children of Jian Yue's family and the two children of Jian Xin's family looked at Shuangshuang wearing pink jade bracelets. Before leaving the house, the five children were reminded by the adults at home to get along well with their little cousin, because the little cousin is young and needs more care.

When I got there and took a look, wow, it really was a small milk ball.

"Shuangshuang, come on, let's play together!" The eldest child of Jian Yue's family was the oldest among the six children present. He acted like a big brother and asked all the children to line up in the shape of a train and drive the train.

They both smiled and imitated their older brother and sister. Each of them grabbed the hem of the clothes of the person in front of them. They stood in a line, followed the front train and circled in the yard.

"They seem to be having a lot of fun." Jian Lu felt relieved as she watched her daughter playing with her brothers and sisters again.

I also went into the house and brought back a plate of melon seeds, peanuts, and fruit candies and put it on the stool, "Remember to eat when you're tired from playing."

"Thank you, auntie."

It was almost noon when Jian Meng, the second child of the Jian family, and her husband and children arrived at the Cheng family. Jian Meng married a man next to the Daxing Production Brigade. This morning, when she was about to go out, she caught up with her child and had to go to the toilet. She had to wait for a while, and the family of three walked for more than two hours on the mountain road before they got here.

"Second Aunt!" The children of Jian Yue and Jian Xin saw Second Aunt at a glance. Second Aunt was in the production team next door and would come back to visit sometimes.

Jian Xin's second daughter pulled her cousin's sleeve and told her, "Shuangshuang, this is my second aunt."

Shuangshuang has become numb after coming back for a few days. She no longer cares who is who. She just calls whoever she is told to call and whatever she is told to call.

"Second Aunt~"

Jian Meng looked at the little girl who looked very similar to her fourth sister when she was a child. She walked over, squatted down, and took a closer look. "Is it Shuangshuang? What a pretty little girl."

"Similar." A curve appeared on her lips, showing her happiness.

"Okay, have fun, I'll go inside and take a look."

Now, there was one more child on the train, and the seven children continued to rumble along on the train.

In the kitchen, the three sisters Jian Lu were busy, while Aunt Wang went to borrow some green onions from the neighbor next door.

The eldest sister was cutting vegetables and asking about the fourth sister's situation over the years. She usually heard about it from the third sister who corresponded with the fourth sister, but now that she was back, she had to ask in person.

"Lulu, are you guys eating well there? Xinxin gave us the dried seafood you sent back. It tastes really good. But can you eat pork there?"

"From time to time, there is some." Jian Lu told them about how she earned pork from writing articles. Jian Yue and Jian Xin were envious when they heard this.

"Is there such a good thing? You have a good brain. You can write articles if you study for a few years."

"By the way, I just saw my brother-in-law. He is a soldier as expected, and he looks really energetic." Jian Yue had a good impression of her brother-in-law. Soldiers are all good people, not to mention that he is a regiment commander. At that time, the fourth sister went there directly, and none of her family members could check for her. Fortunately, she was lucky enough to meet a kind person.

"Yeah." Jian Xin felt the same way. "I'm just too embarrassed to call someone my brother-in-law. I can't open my mouth."

"What's the big deal?" Jian Lu smiled, slid the lard into the pot, and waited for it to melt. "Brother Cheng's second brother is a few years older than me, and he still calls me sister-in-law."

"That's right, let's talk about it by generation."

In the kitchen, when the three sisters were chatting animatedly, Cheng Zheng called out from the door, "Lulu, your second sister is here."

The three of them turned around at the same time and saw Jian Meng standing in the yard.

Jian Meng had just met Cheng Zheng, and had a chat with her eldest brother-in-law and third brother-in-law before heading towards the kitchen.

"Second sister!" Jian Lu waved at her.

"Wow, you are getting more and more amazing." Jian Meng said frankly, her eyes showing surprise. "Xinxin said that you only reported good news in your letter, and we thought you were hiding your worries. I didn't expect that you really don't seem to have any worries."

Jian Xin smiled and agreed with her second sister, "That's right. As soon as Lulu came back from this trip, I felt that she was living a good life."

"Second sister, why are you here just now?" Jian Lu fried the pickled cabbage and put it on a plate, then lifted the lid of the pot to take a look. The chicken stewed with mushrooms was almost ready to be served, so she asked her eldest sister to pass her a large basin.

"Is it easy for me to see you? Oh, it smells so good." Jian Meng sniffed the aroma that filled the kitchen. She was hungry after walking for the whole morning and was tempted. "It's all your nephew's fault. He insisted on going to the toilet right before leaving the house, wasting time."

"Hey, hey, second sister, stop talking. It's time to eat." Jian Xin helped carry the dishes to the kitchen, not forgetting to tease her second sister.

"Okay, I'll shut up."

The four sisters of the Jian family brought the food to the table. There was not enough space for four families to sit at one table, so the adults and children had to sit at separate tables.

Shuangshuang was placed between the two oldest children in the grade and was looked after on both sides.

There were too many people in the room, and the noise from the meal and conversation was loud. Aunt Wang hadn't seen such a lively place for a long time, and the smile on her face never faded.

Today's main dish is the chicken stewed with mushrooms.

We heard that my brother-in-law had picked winter mushrooms from the mountain, and everyone started praising it enthusiastically, stretching out their chopsticks to taste the chicken and winter mushrooms.

The chicken is fried in the pot first. The chicken skin has a slight burnt aroma and the chicken is firm. After a long time of cooking, the chicken is stewed until it is soft and tender. The bones and flesh can be separated by gently biting it. It melts in the mouth. The rich soup The juice seeps into every texture of the chicken, and the aroma is overflowing.

The winter mushrooms are soft and delicious, and the soup made from the mushrooms is even more delicious. As you eat it bite by bite, you can feel your lips and teeth watering. The soup is hidden in every part of the winter mushrooms, and you can feel the soup bursting into your mouth as soon as you bite it. You can eat a big bowl of rice with the chicken stewed with mushrooms.

At the dinner table, Jian Meng was the most talkative one when chatting about family matters. She was mainly observing her fourth brother-in-law Cheng Zheng.

"Captain Cheng, this trip must have been tough, right? I heard it takes several days to sit on the train."

Cheng Zheng nodded and rejected the title first, "Second sister, you can just call me by my name, no need to call me leader. The train ride is quite long and it's easy to get tired."

"Okay then." Jian Meng smiled even more happily. "Now that you mention it, it was really not easy for Lulu to go and find you. Such a young girl went to such a far place just for you."

Jian Meng said with a smile, ready to hear what her brother-in-law thought. Even though they both had a child now, she still had to find out the truth.

"It's not easy. Lulu may be able to endure it." Cheng Zheng poured more wine for the three brothers-in-law, put down the bottle and continued, "Many people can't match her courage."

"That's right. You have to be nice to our Lulu. She deserves all the love she gives you."

"Of course." Cheng Zheng missed the opportunity to be inspected by his wife's family when he got married. Now, after a few years, he has experienced it again.

Jian Meng said something, then changed the subject, "But I've seen that you, my brother-in-law, are capable of raising Lulu to be so fair and tender. I can tell at a glance that Lulu is blessed to marry you."

Jian Meng spoke beautifully, both nodding to Cheng Zheng and praising him highly, which made Aunt Wang happy.

"Don't worry, Shitou really cares about Lulu, otherwise I wouldn't have agreed!"

After dinner, Jian Meng quietly approached Jian Lu and teased her in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Not bad, you chose a pretty good man, he's decent."

Jian Lu thought of what her second sister had said back then and felt that she was quite prescient.

"One more thing, you have only given birth to a daughter now, do your mother-in-law and husband have any opinions?" Jian Meng also only gave birth to one child, a son, but even so, her husband's family had some complaints. Nowadays, who doesn't have several children? Even the sons they gave birth to were considered too few.

Jian Lu shook her head. "No, I like both of them very much."

"That's fine." Jian Meng finally felt relieved. It's hard to find a family with only one daughter-in-law who doesn't mind. She just looked and saw that her fourth sister's mother-in-law and her husband really loved Shuangshuang. "Unlike our dad..."

The four sisters in the family understood what Jian Meng hadn't finished saying.

"Okay, seeing you like this, I feel relieved." Jian Meng stared at her fourth sister, always feeling that this person was blessed, "The only bad thing is that you married too far away. I asked you to marry a little far away so that you wouldn't be asked by dad every now and then, but I didn't ask you to marry that far away."

Jian Meng still has some thoughts about her youngest sister leaving so far away, and she really can't bear to let her go.

Jian Lu chuckled. She felt that her second sister's tone was too exaggerated when she said it was so far away. But on second thought, it was indeed far away. "I didn't expect that I could really go directly from the north to the south."

"Your brother-in-law is a good person, so you have chosen the right person!"

In the afternoon, several families chatted again, and the children's train went back and forth. Soon, everyone was about to leave.

As the Chinese New Year approaches, every family has a lot to do, such as preparing New Year's goods, preparing for the commune's hunting activities and waiting to distribute the meat.

Jian Lu divided the food she had prepared for them, which was several kilograms of dried seafood, all of which were staple foods. She also explained in detail how to make them more delicious, and the three sisters got excited again after hearing that.

After playing for a whole day and getting warm from all the exercise, they knew that their older brothers and sisters were about to leave.

She watched everyone leave reluctantly, looking at them eagerly.

"You can't bear to let her go just like that?" Cheng Zheng found that the lady was very outgoing and could hang out with anyone.

"Ah~ Dad, driving a train is so much fun."

"Do you like driving trains with the brothers and sisters here, or do you like playing with the brothers and sisters in our family compound?" Cheng Zheng threw the child a century-old question.

Shuangshuang tilted her head and thought for a while, "Oh, they all like it."

She has so many brothers and sisters now that she can’t even count them all.

=

After returning to their hometown, the Cheng family lived in the production team for almost a week, and both of them have completely integrated into the life here.

Every day when she slept on the warm earthen kang, she could see snow when she woke up. The snow she packed for Chenchen and his brother was still in a glass jar on the window sill. Because of the cold weather, it had not melted yet and looked very beautiful. Shuangshuang would stare at it and check it every day.

Shuangshuang put on thick cotton jackets today and was armed by her mother, ready to go to the county town.

Tomorrow afternoon, Cheng Zheng's third brother Cheng Jun and his family will arrive. Cheng Zheng decided to go to the city to buy some things today to prepare for the New Year.

Aunt Wang locked the door, and the family set off in the donkey cart.

"Donkey~Donkey~" He pointed at the donkey cart working hard and showed it to his mother.

"Yes, it's a donkey." Jian Lu is used to looking at everything of Shuangshuang. This little girl just can't stop.

After a bumpy ride, the family arrived at the county town after daybreak.

The county town was very busy as the New Year approached. Even when the weather was freezing cold, there were still crowds of people going to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy cloth, buying New Year goods such as melon seeds, peanuts, candies and cakes, and lining up at the food station to buy meat and vegetables. There was an endless stream of people.

Shuangshuang was lifted up by her father and sat on his shoulders. When she found that she was the tallest person on the street, she screamed excitedly.

"Mom, I'm so tall!" The little girl's facial features were all excited and her hands were flying up.

"Yes, you are the tallest." Jian Lu looked at her daughter and shook her head happily. She couldn't help but remind her, "Sit still, your dad won't be able to hold you up in a while."

"Oh." Shuangshuang obeyed obediently.

The family went straight to the county town department store, which had everything. They hurried back with a lot of luggage, but they always left something out.

Jian Lu picked out a pair of suede shoes for Shuangshuang, which looked very fashionable. She also picked out an apricot wool sweater with cherry blossom patterns on the cuffs for the child from the children's clothing section.

Ever since she had a child, Jian Lu couldn't help wanting to buy things for her daughter-in-law, beautiful clothes, pants, shoes and hair accessories. If it weren't for the sports season, she would want to prepare the most fashionable and stylish things for her daughter-in-law.

Fortunately, it is now 1974, and many restrictions are not as strict as before. Some people have even begun to be rehabilitated, and there are more girls wearing bras on the streets in the south.

After buying clothes for the children, Cheng Zheng took his wife and mother to the women's clothing area and asked them to pick out new clothes for themselves.

"Let's follow the old custom this year and wear new clothes for the New Year." Cheng Zheng added, "I don't need to wear new clothes. My military uniform is enough for me."

Aunt Wang also waved her hands, "I, an old woman, don't need to choose. Lulu can choose. You young girls should wear more new clothes. They will look good!"

Jian Lu didn't want to save money. As her family was still wealthy, there was no need for them to live in misery. She didn't try to persuade her mother-in-law, but simply picked out a blue cotton shirt for her. Seeing that she looked satisfied, she asked the salesperson at the department store to pack it up.

Aunt Wang was amazed by her daughter-in-law's quick shopping style. There was really no delay at all.

"Lulu, I asked you to choose, why are you giving me the choice?"

"Mom, everyone in the family needs one." Jian Lu leaned close to her mother-in-law and whispered, "If you don't buy them, Brother Cheng won't buy them either, and I won't be able to let him wear new clothes."

When talking about her son, Aunt Wang made up her mind and decided to buy them all. "Okay, let's all wear new clothes, including Shitou."

After buying clothes on the second floor of the department store, Jian Lu saw a watch counter on the first floor. Watches were expensive these days, and the most important thing was that you had to have a special industrial coupon to buy one, so there were not many people hanging around in front of the watch counter. At most, some people went there to feast their eyes and see the excitement, but few actually paid for the watches.

Jian Lu also wanted to buy a watch. She had enough money, both from her family savings and from her previous pearl farming. The only regret was that she did not have enough industrial coupons.

Cheng Zheng noticed that his wife glanced at the watch counter and asked, "Do you want to check out your watch?"

"Forget it. We don't have enough industrial coupons." When the two got married, Cheng Zheng had planned to buy Jian Lu a watch, but unfortunately, he didn't have enough industrial coupons at that time, and neither of them mentioned the watch again afterwards.

Now we have a radio, a sewing machine and a bicycle at home; the only thing missing is a watch.

Cheng Zheng doesn't need a watch. Years of training and past survival training in the wild have made him very good at estimating time. If his wife wants one, he can consider buying one.

"First, let's see if you like it. I'll think of a way to deal with the industrial vouchers."

The watch counter was deserted, but suddenly three adults and a child came in, and the salesperson couldn't help but look at them a few times.

Just as she was about to say that it was impossible to buy it without an industrial coupon and that she was not willing to receive guests who just wanted to look around, she saw the man in the military coat, who was actually wearing a military uniform underneath.

The salesperson swallowed his words and took the initiative to speak, "Comrade, do you want to buy a watch?"

"Can you show me that Plum brand watch?"

Jian Lu fell in love with an exquisite women's watch at first sight. When the salesperson took out the Plum brand watch, she took a closer look and found that the small dial was delicate and the hands were gleaming with golden light, which looked very textured. The strap was brown leather and felt soft to the touch.

"Comrade, how much is this watch?" Cheng Zheng could tell at a glance that his wife liked this watch.

"One hundred and thirty-five, for eight industrial coupons."

"Okay, then we'll come back to buy it next time." Jian Lu said this confidently, and the salesperson was dumbfounded.

After the family walked away, the salesperson suddenly realized that they couldn't afford it? And they were pretending to come back next time? She had never seen anyone say that they could afford it next time.

"Shitou, do we not have enough industrial coupons at home?" Aunt Wang knew that industrial coupons were hard to come by, and had been thinking about whether she could go to the military families' home to borrow a few after returning to the island.

"Yes, there are only two at home now." In fact, the family's industrial coupons are not so scarce, mainly because Cheng Zheng has lent out a lot of them. Whenever a comrade gets married, everyone helps to collect industrial coupons. Not to mention the large amount, it is good enough to be able to collect enough to buy one item in the three-turn one-ring.

Therefore, there has been a certain tension in the supply of industrial bonds at home.

"Nothing, I'll go back and have a look." Jian Lu didn't really need a watch that urgently. She had looked in the county department store near the island before, but didn't see any watches that she particularly liked, so she had put the matter aside. Who knew that today she would actually see a watch here, and the look really pleased her.

Shuangshuang was held by her father and listened to the adults talking about her mother buying a watch, but her mother took a look and decided not to buy it.

Shuangshuang puffed up her face and thought for a while, then called her mother, "Mom, buy a watch~"

"I'll buy it next time." Jian Lu didn't expect that her daughter would care about this.

"Just buy it." Shuangshuang just heard what the saleswoman said. A watch costs a lot of money. She didn't know what hundred was, but she understood thirty-five. The largest bill in her piggy bank now was the Big Reunion note, with a face value of ten yuan.

"Sangsang will buy it for you!" Shuangshuang knew that her mother had bought her a lot of things, such as beautiful clothes and meat, so she wanted to buy some for her mother too!

Listening to the lady's generous words, Jian Lu smiled knowingly, especially when she saw the lady's serious look, as if she was really going to pay immediately, her heart couldn't help but warm, "Wow, Shuangshuang wants to buy a watch for mom?"

"Yeah!" Both of them nodded. "Sangsang has money, Mom. Sangsang has a lot of money in his piggy bank."

"Are they all for Mom?"

"Yeah." Shuangshuang was a little reluctant, but it was only a little bit, because she found that when her mother looked at her watch, her mouth was upturned, and her mother liked it. "I can still have money."

Shuangshuang counted on her fingers, "Dad, Mom, and Grandma all give me money for sleeping, as well as my second uncle and aunt, my first aunt's family, my second aunt's family, my third aunt's family, my old lady..."

Wow, too many to count, both of them were so happy, their big eyes were almost shining, how much money did they have to pay for the sleeping arrangement?

"Does this count?" Cheng Zheng listened to the young lady counting the relatives who wanted to give her New Year's gifts one by one, and thought that this girl was really smart. He didn't notice it before, but now she remembered all the relatives clearly.

"Oh! Give me all of them."

"Okay, then you keep it for now. There's no rush for Mom's watch. You can buy her later."

When Jian Lu heard that the lady wanted to use all the money in the piggy bank to buy a watch for herself, she looked at Cheng Zheng proudly and said, "Did you hear that? The lady is thinking about me."

The old mother beats the old father, hehe!

Who knows, Cheng Zheng didn't respond at all, "Don't tell me I don't miss you?"

Jian Lu: “…”

I'm here to show off my daughter to you, not to let you compete with her for my favor!

——

After buying clothes, the family went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought five pounds of melon seeds, five pounds of peanuts, four pounds of orange candies, and three pounds of peach cakes. These were all good things to keep, so they bought some extra. They also bought two pounds of egg cakes for the children, so they could finish them before the New Year.

After having lunch at a state-owned hotel, the family rode in a donkey cart back to the production team.

In the afternoon, Cheng Zheng and Jian Lu were going to the next production brigade to visit Cheng Zheng's comrades who had died before the New Year.

Aunt Wang was worried about something and prepared to take two eggs to the home of He Hongmei, the matchmaker in the team. After all, the marriage between her eldest son and his daughter-in-law started there, so she had to give her a thank-you gift.

"Shuangshuang, Mom and Dad are going out, you just follow grandma obediently."

Shuangshuang looked at her parents reluctantly, and asked anxiously, "Can't we take Wo with us?"

"We are going to a very far place. We will have to walk for a while. Can you walk? Your feet will hurt."

When they heard that their feet would hurt when they walked, they shook their heads and said, "Goodbye, Mom and Dad!"

"You change quickly." Cheng Zheng ruffled the lady's hair. Her straight hair was a little messy after wearing the hat, so he combed it for her. Cheng Zheng watched his wife go into the house to get the money, and the two of them set out together.

A few years ago, Cheng Zheng had a comrade-in-arms named Hou Changde, who was from the production team next door. This man was capable and energetic. Because he was much younger than Cheng Zheng, Cheng Zheng always treated him as a younger brother and took good care of him in the army. However, who would have known that in 1966, in a naval battle with the enemy, Hou Changde, who had only been in the army for a few years, died heroically.

That year, Hou Changde was only twenty years old.

That year, Hou Changde's wife had just given birth to a baby boy, but Hou Changde never got to see the child.

Because they were from the same hometown, Cheng Zheng felt sad when he saw his comrade-in-arms leaving behind orphans and widows, so he added fifty yuan to his martyrs' allowance so that he could bring the people back.

However, Cheng Zheng later became busy in the army and never came back, and no one knew what the situation was like at home.

Jian Lu couldn't bear to hear about such soldiers sacrificing their lives. She felt upset when she heard about such news on the Internet or TV before. Not to mention now, her own man is also a soldier, so she can empathize even more.

"I put some candies and peach cakes in an oil-paper bag. I have to bring some gifts when I visit someone."

Cheng Zheng nodded, his wife was thoughtful. Time will eliminate sadness. Eight years later, when Cheng Zheng thought of Hou Changde again, he remembered more his hard work during training and his most innocent smile.

"This trip will take an hour or two. There's no one here right now, so you can just hold onto my clothes."

The two production teams were separated by a few miles, which was not a bad distance. The main problem was that the mountain road was difficult to walk on after the snow, and there were no cars. Even if you could ride a bicycle, it would be dangerous. After much thought, you still have to rely on your own two feet.

"Okay." Jian Lu grabbed Cheng Zheng's military coat, wrapped herself tightly in her thick cotton jacket and followed her.

On the way, Cheng Zheng slowed down from time to time and rubbed his wife's hands. The longer they walked outside, the temperature of his hands gradually became colder.

The rough big palm covered Jian Lu's slender and tender hand, the wheat color and white color intertwined and intertwined constantly.

"Are you cold? I'll give you my military coat."

"It's OK, no need." Jian Lu also went out fully armed, with half of her face covered by the scarf, but her hands and feet were a little frozen. "If I had known, I would have worn my mother's weird shoes."

Although it is a bit bulky and ugly, it is warm.

"That's not easy to walk in. Let me take a look at it when we get back. I can get you something comfortable and warm to walk in."

Cheng Zheng led his wife forward. At this time, there were only a few people on the mountain road, almost all of whom were people Cheng Zheng knew. When he saw an acquaintance, he would greet them and continue forward.

"We're almost there. That's the house in front."

Jian Lu looked in the direction of Cheng Zheng's finger, and saw a mud-walled house with a small courtyard in front of her. However, the mud was mottled and the house did not look stable.

"Hou Changde's parents, wife and son should be at home." In the first two years after Hou Changde's death, Cheng Zheng also asked his mother to go and visit his family. Later, the distance between them was far and it was not easy to go back and forth. In addition, as time went by, they gradually lost contact.

This time, he had to go on his own.

When he reached the gate of the Hou family's courtyard, Cheng Zheng looked inside and saw a child there, so he asked in a clear voice, "Tiger Head?"

The child in the yard heard someone calling him and walked slowly to the door. He saw a man in a military coat and was a little surprised and confused. "Uncle, how do you know me?"

"Is it really Tiger Head?" Cheng Zheng looked at the boy in the yard and estimated that he was about six or seven years old, about the age of Hou Changde's child, so he asked casually, "I am your father's comrade-in-arms, and I came to visit you."

"My dad?" Hu Tou's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard that it was his father's comrade-in-arms. Although he had never seen his father since he was born, his mother told him that his father was a hero and a martyr, and he had always admired his father.

"Uncle, you are a soldier too?"

"That's right." Cheng Zheng looked at his comrade's child, who should be eight years old, but with a pale face and skinny body. He didn't look like an eight-year-old child, and he seemed to be living an ordinary life. "Is anyone at home?"

"My mother is mending shoe soles at Aunt Yang's house next door. I'll go call her." Hu Tou turned around and ran, disappearing in a flash.

Someone in the house heard the noise and came out. When he saw two strangers at the door, he was surprised that they looked so nice and didn't seem like his relatives.

With a bit of caution, the old lady spoke, "Comrades, who are you looking for?"

"Auntie, I'm Cheng Zheng, Hou Changde's comrade-in-arms. I'm here to visit his family." Cheng Zheng replied politely.

Jian Lu held up the bag in her hand and said, "Auntie, my husband and I came to visit you. It's almost the New Year, so I bought some candies and peach cakes to have some fun."

"Ah?" The old lady looked at Cheng Zheng, still a little unconvinced, "You are my son's comrade-in-arms?"

Cheng Zheng nodded. "I'm from the 625th Unit, the same regiment as Changde."

After hearing the name, the old lady finally decided.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. We don't want the gifts. Since you are comrades from Changde, please come up to the house. I just said you are here, why bring any gifts?" The old lady warmly welcomed them into the house, asked them to sit down, turned around and called to the west room, "Old man, Changde's comrade is here, please come out and take a look."